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Cycling News Extra for July 28, 2006

Edited by Jeff Jones

Landis denies

Floyd Landis has broken his silence about his high T/E ratio that could
cost him the Tour de France, as well as hammering cycling's already battered
image. Landis, who has requested a B sample analysis to confirm his A
test, told Sports Illustrated, that he "can't be hopeful" that
the B sample will be any different than the A. "I'm a realist," he added.
When asked whether he had used a testosterone
patch for recovery, Landis denied it straight out.

But even if the B sample confirms the A result, Landis is not necessarily
guilty of taking an illegal performance enhancing drug to boost his testosterone.
Some riders can prove that they have an elevated Testosterone/Epitestosterone
(T:E) level, if they undergo an endocrine test performed by a credible
doctor. Landis said he will use Spanish doctor Luis Hernández, who has
helped other riders prove a high T:E count. "In hundreds of cases, no
one's ever lost one," Landis told SI.

In 1999, Colombian rider Santiago Botero was able to prove his elevated
testosterone levels (over four times the allowed limit) were natural.
His doctor at the time was Kelme's Dr Eufemiano Fuentes.

Landis is looking for other answers too. He is allowed to take cortisone
for his degenerating right hip, although he said during the Tour that
he had only had a couple of injections this year. But he also told SI
that he'd been taking daily doses of a thyroid hormone to treat a thyroid
condition. Even if either of these can explain his high T:E ratio, Landis
realises that it will be hard to convince people. "I wouldn't hold it
against somebody if they don't believe me," he said.

Others have looked at explanations such as the beer Landis had the night
before his stage 17 exploit, citing a study in the American Association
for Clinical Chemistry ( Vol 34, 1462-1464, 1988) by Swedish researchers
O Falk, E Palonek and I Bjorkhem. In it, they investigated the effects
of the ingestion of between 110-160 g of ethanol (2 g/kg bodyweight).
They showed that it "increased the ratio between testosterone and
epitestosterone in urine from 1.14 +/- 0.07 to 1.52 +/- 0.09 in four healthy
male volunteers. The increase ranged from 30% to 90% in the different
subjects studied (mean 41%). In cases where doping with testosterone is
suspected, the possibility should be considered that at least part of
an observed increased testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in urine is ascribable
to previous ingestion of ethanol."

As a caveat, Landis was quoted at the time as saying that he'd only had
one beer and a small amount of Jack Daniels later on. Even a pint of normal
strength beer generally doesn't contain more than 20 g of alcohol, while
a shot of whiskey contains about 10 g - a much lower level than was studied
by the Swedish researchers.

USA Cycling's statement on Landis

As the national federation responsible for American riders, USA Cycling
has issued its statement in reaction to the Floyd Landis case. USAC made
clear that it would not comment on "any facet of any anti-doping matter
out of respect for both the rights of the athlete and the due process.
USA Cycling immediately refers all anti-doping matters to the U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency (USADA) for processing and adjudication.

"'Respecting the due process and the rights of all athletes as a member
of the Olympic family, USA Cycling cannot and will not tolerate doping
in our sport,' commented Steve Johnson, chief executive officer of USA
Cycling. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy with regards to doping and
will continue to adhere to the highest standards of fair play.

"In order to protect the integrity and reputation of those athletes
who exemplify the Olympic ideals and compete clean, USA Cycling is committed
to working with the United States Olympic Committee, the UCI, the U.S.
Anti-doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency to ensure a level
playing field for all of our athletes."